First attack against Kyiv in nearly two months - A wave of Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least 12 people and wounded some 17 more in cities across Ukraine on Friday, according to officials. The attacks came as large-scale Russian air strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure had appeared to wane in recent months and expectations were growing that Ukraine's military would soon launch a counter-offensive against Russian forces. Most of the deaths occurred in Uman, a city south of Kyiv, when two missiles slammed into an apartment building, Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said. -- Source 2l.
• Russia called the attack unsuccessful assassination attempt against President Vladimir Putin and promised retaliation for what it termed a “terrorist” act. The Ukrainian president denied it, saying: “We don't attack Putin or Moscow.”
• There was no independent verification of the purported attack, which Russian authorities said occurred overnight but presented no evidence to support it. Questions also arose as to why it took the Kremlin hours to report the incident.
• Russia has staged false-flag operations to try to justify assaults on Ukraine. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak dismissed Wednesday's claim as a Russian ruse “to justify massive strikes on Ukrainian cities, on the civilian population, on infrastructure facilities” in coming days. Source 4g.